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An Open Market for CWB
Grain
The final report, a study to determine the implications of an open
marketplace in western Canadian wheat, durum and barley for farmers, was
released by Informa Economics in June.
Click here
to read the report.
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"The crisis on Canada's farms comes at a time when
profits in the corporate food sector are sky rocketing. It may be
the first time in history that there has been such disparity between
farmers' earnings and the earnings enjoyed by the people who process,
market and retail food production.
No fewer than 40 corporations in the food sector,
including farm input companies, posted record profits in 2004 according to
a recent survey by the National Farmers Union, which uses the most recent
financial information available. Another 16 corporations had
near-record profits.
The three largest breakfast cereal makers all posted
record profits. The list of companies that posted profits includes
Tyson Foods, Pepsico (Pepsi and Quaker Oats), ConAgra, Anheuser-Busch
(malting barley for beer), General Mills Inc., Coca-Cola, Kellogg Co.,
Cargill and Maple Leaf Foods.
Corporations with near record profits were Altria
(Kraft), Nestle, Sara Lee and Heinz.
Among retailers, Loblaw Companies (which includes
Weston Foods) posted a record, as did Metro Inc. (based mainly in Ontario
and Quebec), while Sobeys had its third highest profit." |
